I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9253 

To provide for a coordinated national research program to examine the 

nature, causes, consequences, and prevention of violence and unintended 

injury and death relating to gun ownership, use, and trafficking, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2024 

Mrs. FOUSHEE (for herself, Mr. FROST, Mr. BEYER, Mr. TONKO, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. GOLDMAN

of New York, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. TITUS, Mr. JACKSON of North Carolina, 

Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. ROSS, Ms. ADAMS, and 

Mr. HORSFORD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 

Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for a coordinated national research program to 

examine the nature, causes, consequences, and prevention 

of violence and unintended injury and death relating 

to gun ownership, use, and trafficking, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Gun Violence 

3 Research Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) In the last 50 years, more individuals in the 

7 United States have died from gunshots than in all 

8 wars in which the United States was a combatant, 

9 combined. 

10 (2) The rate of gun violence deaths in the 

11 United States is more than 11 times that of other 

12 high-income nations. 

13 (3) Guns accounted for 79 percent of homicides 

14 and 55 percent of suicides in 2022, totaling over 

15 48,000 deaths in the United States. 

16 (4) Gun violence disproportionately affects com17 munities of color. In 2021, Black Americans were 

18 13.7 times as likely as White Americans to be killed 

19 by gun violence while Hispanic and Latino Ameri20 cans were 2.4 times as likely to be killed. 

21 (5) Provisions in appropriations Acts dating 

22 back to 1996 have had a chilling effect on Federal 

23 funding for research on gun violence across the Fed24 eral Government and, as a result, research on gun 

25 violence is significantly underfunded relative to other 

26 leading causes of death. 


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1 (6) Research examining the nature, causes, con2 sequences, and prevention of gun-related violence, 

3 suicide, and unintentional injury and death does not 

4 constitute advocacy in support of, or opposition to, 

5 gun control policies or regulations. 

6 (7) More research and high-quality data relat7 ing to gun violence are needed to inform the develop8 ment of effective strategies to reduce the incidence 

9 of gun-related injury and death. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

13 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

14 Policy. 

15 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

16 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

17 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High18 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

19 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

20 the National Gun Violence Research Program estab21 lished under section 5. 

22 SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND DATA RESTRICTIONS REPEAL. 

23 (a) GUN TRACE DATA.— 

24 (1) The matter under the heading ‘‘Bureau of 

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1 ries and Expenses’’ in title II of division B of the 

2 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropria3 tions Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 

4 112–55; 125 Stat. 609–610) is amended by striking 

5 the 6th proviso. 

6 (2) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

7 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala8 ries and Expenses’’ in title II of division B of the 

9 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (18 U.S.C. 

10 923 note; Public Law 111–117; 123 Stat. 3128– 

11 3129) is amended by striking ‘‘beginning in fiscal 

12 year 2010 and thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘in fiscal 

13 year 2010’’. 

14 (3) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

15 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala16 ries and Expenses’’ in title II of division B of the 

17 Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (18 U.S.C. 923 

18 note; Public Law 111–8; 123 Stat. 574–576) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘beginning in fiscal year 2009 

20 and thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘in fiscal year 2009’’. 

21 (4) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

22 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala23 ries and Expenses’’ in title II of division B of the 

24 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (18 U.S.C. 

25 923 note; Public Law 110–161; 121 Stat. 1903– 


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1 1904) is amended by striking ‘‘beginning in fiscal 

2 year 2008 and thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘in fiscal 

3 year 2008’’. 

4 (5) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

5 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala6 ries and Expenses’’ in title I of the Science, State, 

7 Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appro8 priations Act, 2006 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public 

9 Law 109–108; 119 Stat. 2295–2296) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘with respect to any fiscal year’’. 

11 (6) The 6th proviso under the heading in title 

12 I of division B of the Consolidated Appropriations 

13 Act, 2005 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 108– 

14 447; 118 Stat. 2859–2860) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘with respect to any fiscal year’’. 

16 (b) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV17 ICES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds 

18 made available to the Department of Health and Human 

19 Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and 

20 Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, may be 

21 used to conduct or support research with respect to gun 

22 violence. 

23 SEC. 5. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, acting 

25 through the Director, shall develop and implement a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9253.IH H9253

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1 gram to improve public health and safety through research 

2 on gun violence (to be known as the ‘‘National Gun Vio3 lence Research Program’’), through activities carried out 

4 in collaboration with covered agencies that— 

5 (1) support gun violence research; 

6 (2) accelerate the translation of gun violence re7 search into effective policy interventions to reduce 

8 the incidence of injury and death related to guns; 

9 (3) expand the number of researchers and stu10 dents in the field of gun violence research; and 

11 (4) improve interagency planning and coordina12 tion of Federal Government activities relating to gun 

13 violence research. 

14 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—A covered agency, in car15 rying out activities described in subsection (a), shall— 

16 (1) award grants to individual investigators and 

17 interdisciplinary teams of investigators for projects 

18 related to gun violence research; 

19 (2) support projects funded under joint solicita20 tions by a collaboration of no fewer than two covered 

21 agencies; 

22 (3) establish interdisciplinary research centers 

23 that are organized to investigate basic research 

24 questions and inform policy decisions relating to gun 

25 violence; 


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1 (4) provide for the education and training of 

2 undergraduate students, graduate students, and 

3 postdoctoral scholars in gun violence research; and 

4 (5) promote the development of voluntary con5 sensus gun safety technical standards. 

6 (c) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, 

9 acting through the National Science and Technology 

10 Council, shall establish or maintain an interagency 

11 working group on gun violence research. 

12 (2) COMPOSITION.—The working group estab13 lished or maintained under paragraph (1) shall be 

14 chaired by the Director and include representatives 

15 from— 

16 (A) the National Science Foundation; 

17 (B) the National Institute of Standards 

18 and Technology; 

19 (C) the National Institutes of Health; 

20 (D) the Centers for Disease Control and 

21 Prevention; 

22 (E) the National Institute of Justice; and 

23 (F) any other Federal agency (including 

24 an agency, department, or service thereof) that 

25 the Director considers appropriate. 


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1 (3) DUTIES.—The Working Group shall— 

2 (A) oversee the planning, management, 

3 and coordination of the Program; 

4 (B) provide for coordination among cov5 ered agencies of Federal gun violence research 

6 and other activities undertaken pursuant to the 

7 Program; 

8 (C) establish and periodically update goals 

9 and priorities for the Program; and 

10 (D) develop, not later than 12 months 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, and up12 date every 5 years, a strategic plan to guide the 

13 activities of the Program to meet the goals and 

14 priorities established under subparagraph (C). 

15 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

18 President, acting through the Director of the Office 

19 of Science and Technology Policy, shall establish or 

20 maintain an advisory committee on gun violence re21 search. 

22 (2) COMPOSITION.—The advisory committee es23 tablished or maintained under paragraph (1) shall 

24 be composed of not less than 12 members, including 

25 representatives of research institutions, institutions 


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1 of higher education, health care and social services 

2 providers, local government agencies, law enforce3 ment, community-based organizations, and relevant 

4 nonprofit organizations who are qualified to provide 

5 advice on the Program. 

6 (3) DUTIES.—The advisory committee estab7 lished or maintained under paragraph (1) shall as8 sess— 

9 (A) the management, coordination, imple10 mentation, and activities of the Program; 

11 (B) the balance of activities and funding 

12 across the Program; 

13 (C) whether the Program priorities and 

14 goals developed by the working group estab15 lished under subsection (c)(3) are helping to 

16 improve public health and safety; and 

17 (D) the need to revise the Program. 

18 (e) COVERED AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section, 

19 the term ‘‘covered agency’’ means— 

20 (1) the National Science Foundation; 

21 (2) the National Institute for Standards and 

22 Technology; 

23 (3) the Centers for Disease Control and Preven24 tion; 

25 (4) the National Institutes of Health; 


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1 (5) the National Institute of Justice; and 

2 (6) such other Federal agency as determined 

3 appropriate by the Director of the Office of Science 

4 and Technology Policy. 

5 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director to carry 

7 out this section $200,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

8 through 2030. 

9 SEC. 6. AGENCY ACTIVITIES. 

10 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.— 

11 (1) RESEARCH.—The Director of the National 

12 Science Foundation shall award grants, on a com13 petitive basis, to institutions of higher education or 

14 nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institu15 tions)— 

16 (A) to support multidisciplinary research 

17 to better understand the nature, causes, and 

18 consequences of gun violence, including violence, 

19 suicide, unintended injury, and death involving 

20 guns; 

21 (B) to examine the effects of gun policy 

22 interventions on— 

23 (i) rates of suicide, homicide, and un24 intended injury and death; 


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1 (ii) individuals’ ability to use guns for 

2 self-defense, hunting, and recreation; and 

3 (iii) the gun industry; and 

4 (C) to educate and train researchers in the 

5 field of violence, including gun violence, re6 search. 

7 (2) NATIONAL CENTER FOR VIOLENCE RE8 SEARCH.—The Director of the National Science 

9 Foundation shall award grants on a competitive 

10 basis to institutions of higher education or nonprofit 

11 organizations (or consortia of such institutions) to 

12 establish one or more centers to conduct multidisci13 plinary research and education activities in support 

14 of the goals and priorities of the Program (to be 

15 known as ‘‘National Center for Violence Research’’). 

16 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

18 this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

19 2025 through 2030. 

20 (b) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

21 TECHNOLOGY.— 

22 (1) VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS.—The 

23 Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director 

24 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech25 nology, shall establish a program to promote the deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9253.IH H9253

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1 velopment of voluntary consensus gun safety tech2 nical standards. Such effort shall include— 

3 (A) outreach, coordination, and technical 

4 support to relevant industry and nonindustry 

5 stakeholders and standards development organi6 zations to assist such entities in the develop7 ment of voluntary consensus gun safety tech8 nical standards; 

9 (B) the conduct of research to support ef10 forts to develop and improve such standards 

11 and conformity assessment; and 

12 (C) the development of such standard ref13 erence material as the Director determines is 

14 necessary to further the development of such 

15 standards. 

16 (2) PROHIBITION ON REGULATION.—Nothing in 

17 this Act shall be construed as conferring upon the 

18 Secretary of Commerce any authority to establish or 

19 enforce mandatory gun safety standards. 

20 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

22 this subsection $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

23 2025 through 2030. 

24 (c) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV25 ICES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

2 Human Services, acting through the Director of the 

3 National Institutes of Health, the Director of the 

4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 

5 other scientific agencies within the Department of 

6 Health and Human Services, shall award grants on 

7 a competitive basis to conduct or support research 

8 into the nature, causes, consequences, and preven9 tion of gun violence. 

10 (2) APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to 

11 be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services to carry out this subsection 

13 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

14 2030. 

15 (d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.— 

16 (1) RESEARCH.—The Attorney General, acting 

17 through the Director of the National Institute of 

18 Justice, shall conduct or sponsor research into the 

19 nature, causes, consequences, and prevention of gun 

20 violence. 

21 (2) TRACE DATA.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 the Attorney General, in collaboration with the 

25 Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 


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1 develop consensus protocols for granting re2 searchers access to gun trace data that abide by 

3 standard principles for ethical research. 

4 (B) DATA SHARING.—Not later than 1 

5 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

6 Attorney General, acting through the Director 

7 of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 

8 and Explosives, shall commence sharing with 

9 researchers according to the protocols developed 

10 under subparagraph (A), the contents of the 

11 Firearms Trace System database and informa12 tion required to be kept by licensees pursuant 

13 to section 923(g) of title 18, United States 

14 Code, or required to be reported pursuant to 

15 paragraphs (3) and (7) of such section 923(g). 

16 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

18 this subsection $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

19 2025 through 2030. 

Æ 


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